Jesus Needs Celebrity Endorsements?

“Did you hear?!?! [Fill in the name of a celebrity] is a Christian!”

Whether it be Bono from U2,  Vanness Wu from F4, MC Jin former Ruff Ryder, MC Hammer, or even George W. Bush; why does it seem that we so readily drop these names? I’ve done it too and I’ve justify it by saying something along the lines of, “It’s amazing that Jesus saved them.” But the reality is that it’s amazing that Jesus saves anyone but we don’t name drop Gary Lego (a homeless man living in Pomona). Why are we so ready to drop celebrity names in our casual conversations with people who are not of faith?

I think if we’re honest, it might be because we’re looking for some validation that Christianity is cool. Lets face it, the Gospel is offensive but on top of that Christians don’t seem to be helping its P.R. If we’re really in touch with reality outside the bubble, we can generally get a sense of how others view Christianity. I can almost promise you that if you ask random people to give a one word description of Christianity, “cool” would not be on the top 10 list.

Christianity is not cool. Nor was it ever intended to be cool. When people try to make Christianity more vogue, it becomes even more uncool. For example:

Or my new favorite

“Give em that Christian side Hug!!!”

I’ll be the first to say it, “Christianity is not cool.” Many of us, especially those who have grown up in the church, are fully aware of this. This becomes apparent when we have conversations with our “heathen” friends. When the conversation casually changes to the topic of our faith, we become aware of (if not embarrassed about) what we’re about to say. So to make Christianity a little more acceptable or to give it a little more “street cred”  we throw in a celebrity endorsement. So and So is a Christian.

Paul said:

“For indeed jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness… And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the wisdom of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 1:22-23;  2:1-2

and

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel , for it is the power of God for salvation…” -Romans 1:16

Even in Paul’s time the Christian message (aka the Gospel) was not a popular thing. The Jews wanted signs and the Greeks wanted wisdom but Paul gave neither.. He gave foolishness. In our day, Americans want comfort, convenience, entertainment, and novelty. So what do we give them? We give them a soft message so its easier for them to “commit”; we provide services to people not out of necessity but out of convenience,we give Sunday services that are witty and flashy, and we drop celebrity names in order to show the acceptability of Christianity in mainstream culture.

The gospel is meant to be preached even though it appears foolish. The point is that Christianity in it’s purest form is not attractive at all. The message is hard. The commitment is TOTAL. The way of life is insane. The stories are unbelievable. It is meant to be foolishness to the world.

I know what some might say, “If we are to preach the gospel in that manner – without name dropping, without trying to make Christianity more appealing, without witty comments – it would take a miracle for people to be saved.”

And that is EXACTLY THE POINT!

It takes a miracle for people to accept the message of the Gospel. The fact that we are even saved and we even believe is a miracle! And the only way we can even come close to making Gospel at little more appealing is by getting on our knees and praying for that miracle to take place in peoples lives. And if you must name drop, there is only one name that needs to be dropped – JESUS.

So please. PLEASE! Refrain from trying to make Christianity more acceptable. Jesus does not need a celebrity endorsement, He’s already gotten the biggest endorsement ever (1 John 5:9)